Sheep at Ketches Farm
Ketches started with a select group of breeding ewes and has grown year on year. Improving the base ewes and investing in quality pure rams to produce strong, healthy and naturally raise lambs. In consultation with local vets the sheep are monitored throughout the year for condition and health and rotationally grazed across the farm. Winter feed is produced on site, stored and fed during those colder months. Lambing is always indoors to give those newborns the best protection from the elements and predators. The best care anywhere and as natural as possible. A rigid selection process assures quality going forward.
Raising Sheep on Grazing
With close to 320 acres Ketches provides ample grazing all year round for our stock of breeding ewes and rams. New facilities allow us to lamb in a protected environment for the best hands on care during this time, day and night.
The core of the sheep enterprise on Ketches is the Romney although over the last few years we have brought in other breeds to improve on the quality we provide. Suffolks first to increase lamb size, then Charolais to help with vigour and lately Texels to enhance quality further. The result is that this years lambs have been the strongest so far with very few complications. The strategic crossing of breeds means the lambs have the best chance of survival and the potential to grow into commercially viable animals. In addition we breed all our own breeding stock, limiting the potential for disease brought in. As soon as practicable the lambs and their mothers are put out on good grass for a natural upbringing.
Meet the Flock
All the sheep at Ketches have been chosen for their complimentary qualities with a view to producing customer friendly products to the highest standards. While we are not officially Organic, we do share many of those principles with the added safety net of current fertilisers and medicines.
Romney
The mainstay of the flock, hardy and thrifty, good on their feet and make excellent mothers, producing a lot of milk for their lambs. They thrive on our Wealdon grass and are the basis of all crosses in the flock.
Charolais
Similar in appearance to the Romney but with a clean head, the breed was developed in Europe as a dairy and meat sheep and their lambs tend to be very strong and full of energy with a will to survive, often being on their feet within minutes of being born.
Romney x Texel
Crossing the great mothering ability of the Romney with the robust nature of the Texel for the first time this season has resulted in some really strong lambs and good birth weights.
